February wrapped up with a up and down session as investors look ahead to what the sequestration could mean for the markets.

Looking at today’s stock movers, earnings results helped lift shares of Limited Brands (LTD) and Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), which also initiated its first-ever dividend payout. On the flipside, we saw a bit of selling in Cablevision (CVC) and Kohl’s (KSS) shares following their earnings numbers. Elsewhere, there was investor interest in shares of Amgen (AMGN) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) in today’s session. Finally, gold prices continue to try and push back above the $1600 an ounce level, but commodity investors appear to be a bit more nervous. It’s clear the gold market is now not nearly as bullish as had been the case for the last several years.

The Three “E’s”

I was listening to a couple of sports radio commentators referring to a basketball coach who talked about the keys to success and winning. The idea was built around the three “E” words: energy, effort, and execution. The thought was that if the team brought the energy and effort, the coach would handle the execution part of the equation.

If you think about this concept from an investing standpoint, we are not only the coach, but the players as well. Our financial situation depends on those same factors. When we commit to learning how to perform a specific job, it will take a constant energy to perform those duties as well as the effort of making sure it is us at our best. Next comes execution, where we consistently put money to work and make solid all-around decisions. If all goes well, the financial rewards should be there. If they aren’t, it could be time to re-assess why you are not seeing the results you had hoped.

Remember, the money you earn in your employment endeavors is the necessary fuel to fire up your wealth engine. Take a look at how the 3 “E’s” are affecting your financial situation. Results will vary from person to person, but if we make the proper adjustments as necessary, we should never have to think about being on the losing side of the equation (in terms of money and success).

Our 2013 Dividend Stock Guide Has Arrived!

Our new members-only eBook has just been released! This 250-page guide to investing in 2013 contains a concise economic forecast for next year, including full previews for 60 big-name stocks! Be sure to head over to Dividend.com Premium and download it and get your game plan in place for all good things dividend-related in 2013!

25 Years of Dividend-Increasing Stocks

We recently updated our list of dividend stocks that have been paying out dividends for 25 years or more. Be sure to check out the latest list of names here.

Dividends Really Matter

Financial blog DailyReckoning.com recently took a look at the difference dividend payouts made in the overall return investors saw throughout the prior decades. Here are some of the highlights:

- The Nasdaq is down 28% since the end of 1999. Even the “blue chip” S&P 500 stocks are down 15% during that time frame…until you add back those “boring” dividends. With dividends included, the S&P 500′s 15% loss flips to a 6% gain.

- Without dividends, the S&P 500 index would have produced a loss for the 25 long years from August 1929 to August 1954. Then again, without dividends, the S&P 500 produced a 5% loss during the 13 years from September 1961 to September 1974. But with dividends included, the S&P’s loss became a 46% gain.

- Over the course of the last half-century, dividends have contributed more than half of the stock market’s total return — 56%, to be exact.

Of course, you can’t discuss the potency of dividend investing without making mention of how awesome compound returns are. I can’t stress enough the power of compound interest: you take a small amount of money and turn it into a large amount over time. Finding the right companies at the right price points which not only grow earnings, but also grow their dividend payouts as well!

We have much more about why Dividends are so awesome if you check out our “What is a Dividend?” page here.

New Watchlist Article Out Today

Be sure to check out our weekly Top 50 High-Yield Watchlist Names post that is out today, exclusively for Dividend.com Premium members. This list gives readers a good idea of what stocks we’re watching behind the scenes here for potential upgrades.

Go Beyond This Newsletter

We know many of you enjoy reading the daily newsletter, but remember that with our Dividend.com Premium service, the newsletter is just one small component of what we offer. Here are the “Big Three” benefits of our Premium service:

- Creating your own Watchlist allows you to track the performance, news, and upcoming dividend payouts of the particular stocks you care about.

- Finally, we offer the most complete and easy-to-use dividend data on the web. Many subscribers use this data as part of a “Dividend Capture” trading strategy, but long-term investors can use it to keep track of impending payouts. Just visit our Ex-Dividend Calendar for a complete outlook on which companies will be paying out soon.

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